Little Sister--an UNDERTALE Fan Fiction
by BBPRIMEFAN101
Summary: on a walk in the snowy forest, slacking off as usual, Sans the skeleton stumbles upon something not so usual—a small skeleton child. (My very first fic of this, so please be gentle if I do not get every single detail right. If you are not interested or don't like at all, then don't read)
1. Chapter 1

**Little Sister-an UNDERTALE Fan Fiction**

* * *

 **A/N: oh gosh, I cannot believe I am doing this. Writing fics based off of a game! XD Never done it before, but it could be interesting. Plus, several others are doing it. I might as well, too.**

 **Summary: on a walk in the snowy forest, slacking off as usual, Sans the skeleton stumbles upon something not so usual—a small skeleton child.**

 **(My very first fic of this, so please be gentle if I do not get every single detail right. If you are not interested or don't like at all, then don't read)**

 **UNDERTALE © Toby Fox Games**

 **Red © Me**

* * *

 **~Little Sister~**

As usual, Sans slacked off at his job as a sentry. He was supposed to "always be on the lookout for humans," like his brother Papyrus constantly nagged him, but Sans wasn't as interested in capturing anybody like his brother. He just didn't care. Plus, he was too lazy. So, instead of searching for humans, he just walked through Snowdin's forest, whistling to himself or thinking up hilarious jokes to irritate Papyrus with. It was a regular thing. "LAZY BONES!" Papyrus would call him, but Sans had heard that remark time and time again. Everything was the same; he went out, slacked off, came home, Papyrus nagged him, then Sans went to sleep on the couch. Nothing special usually happened.

Except for this one, particular day.

Like always, instead of remaining at his post, Sans wandered off through the snowy forest, listening to the silence, whistling, and coming up with lame skeleton puns. He always walked the same path through the forest; there were times when his footsteps from yesterday's walk could still be visible, and he would step into them just for the heck of it. He looked up to the same dead, frost-bitten trees, stepped over the same fallen logs, and climbed over the same icy rocks. Despite everything being the same, it didn't really bother him. But of course, when something new appeared, if it ever did, it definitely piqued his interest.

Like always, when Sans turned a corner past a rock nestled between two trees, nothing would be there. Ever. However, on this day, something was different. He suddenly noticed another trail of footsteps parted from his usual track, exactly next to the rock and trees. Sans may have been a lazy jokester, but he was no fool. He knew that the new track of footprints was not his.

"What the…?" he murmured, kneeling down to examine them. "Too small to be Papyrus's," he clarified. "No one ventures this deep into the forest except me. Well, at least no one that I know. So who…?" He led his eyes along the trail of tiny footprints and soon saw they headed into a different part of the forest. Deeply interested and curious, he followed them.

Sans noticed that the further he followed this trail, the more spaced and messy the footsteps became. And not too long later, they started appearing like someone was dragged across the snow. He frowned, emanating a faint growl. "Now this is getting really weird…"

He decided to look ahead of the tracks and blinked at what he saw. At first, he thought it was just the shadow of a snow pile, but after staring at it long enough, he knew it wasn't what he thought. Racing over to the object, he stopped a few feet from it. Laying half-buried in the snow was a small skeleton!

"What the hell…?" Sans muttered and knelt down to examine the skeleton further. Shuffling some of the snow aside, he confirmed it was a girl, for the skeleton wore a faded pink dress and dirty red sweater, which glittered with frost. The skeleton girl's bones were heavily frost-bitten and cracked, like the winter was slowly eating at her and entombing her in a coffin of ice.

But the girl was not dead.

"She's still alive…" Sans said, baffled to see this kid still kicking in her condition. How he could tell—besides the fact that she wasn't a pile of dust—he didn't quite know. He could just…feel it. Was it perhaps because she, too, was a skeleton? He had no clue. He gently placed a hand on the fragile girl's shoulder and rubbed. "Hey, kid," he said softly. "You okay? You awake?" He received no reply.

Sans started worrying for the girl, and he didn't even know who she was, let alone how in the world she wound up there. But he could worry about that later. If this kid was still somehow alive, she needed to be taken care of, or she would end up freezing to death. He quickly dug up the rest of her body and carefully scooped her up.

Snow suddenly poured from the back of her skull, revealing a massive hole. Sans gasped at the sight of the severe injury. The entire parietal lobe was gone, and several tiny cracks sat around the edge. Staring at the wound, Sans let out a pitiful chuckle. "Wow," he said. "Someone sure did a number on ya, huh, kid?" He then started back for his and Papyrus's house. "But don't worry. You're in good hands."

Sans arrived home late that evening, and was greeted by the familiar smell of spaghetti coming from the kitchen.

"SANS!" Papyrus's voice came from the kitchen. "YOU ARE HOME EARLIER THAN USUAL! DOES THAT MEAN YOU HAVE FOUND A HUMAN?!"

Sans chuckled and replied, "Well, I found something, bro. Listen, I need your help, so get over here."

"WHAT IS IT?" Papyrus entered the living room, wearing his very cool apron, and gasped at what was resting in Sans's arms. "A SKELETON?"

"Yeah," Sans said and laid the skeleton girl on the couch. "Found her half-frozen to death in the forest, which is weird, 'cause I always walk that path and have never seen her before." He placed the girl in a comfortable position, then looked to his brother. "Okay, Papyrus, let's get every blanket we can find and mummify this kid."

"RIGHT!" Papyrus exclaimed and raced about the house, collected every blanket he first saw and delivered them to Sans, who wrapped them around the skeleton girl.

Once the girl was smothered with blankets, Sans's left eye glowed a fiery blue. He used his magic to gently heat up the blankets in order to thaw her out.

"YOU SAY YOU JUST FOUND HER IN THE WOODS?" Papyrus asked.

"Yep," Sans nodded.

"ANOTHER SKELETON," Papyrus muttered with fascination. "YOU DON'T SUPPOSE SHE COULD BE OUR LITTLE SISTER, DO YOU?"

"I dunno, bro. I don't remember having a little sister."

After a while, a tiny moan came from the girl, causing the brothers to sigh from relief. The girl shifted her head a little, revealing the massive gape she had.

Papyrus gasped. "S-SANS! HER HEAD!"

"I know, bro," Sans said and headed for the stairs.

"WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED? AND, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?"

"To get something," Sans replied, approaching his room.

"GET WHAT?" Papyrus asked. "WE SHOULD BOTH LOOK AFTER THE GIRL IN CASE SHE WAKES UP."

"You do it for me for a while, Pap. I gotta get something. Let me know when she wakes up, okay, bro?"

"SANS! GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!"

But nobody came.

* * *

She felt warm. That was all she could feel at the moment. Just comfortable warmth, and something soft. But for a minute, it troubled her. The last thing she remembered was the bitter cold of the icy snow, and then the next minute she was somewhere quiet and warm? It was confusing to her.

Well, it was almost quiet.

From somewhere nearby came the sound of snoring. Mustering the strength to open her eyes, she looked dizzily around. She saw she was in a second-story house, resting on a couch, unable to move due to being cocooned in numerous blankets. She heard the sound near her feet and saw a tall skeleton monster, fast asleep, snoring obnoxiously and muttering nonsense. At first, she pondered if she should feel afraid and cry out, but for some odd reason, she already trusted this monster. But she had never met him. Had she?

Still dizzy and aching, she let out another moan, louder this time, loud enough to awaken the skeleton. He yawned, stretched, scratched the back of his skull, and looked to her. Seeing her awake must have awoken him completely, for his bony face lit up like Christmas lights.

"OH, YOU ARE AWAKE AT LAST!" he cheered. The girl flinched at his cry for joy and shrunk under the blankets once more. Noticing her fear made the skeleton calm down and collect himself. "OH, I AM SORRY FOR STARTLING YOU," he said kindly. "YOU HAVE BEEN ASLEEP FOR A WHILE."

She tried moving but was tightly wrapped in the blankets. She wriggled about as much as she could and fretted; luckily, the skeleton understood her message.

"OH, IT MUST BE AWFULLY TIGHT FOR YOU," he said. "HERE, LET I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SET YOU FREE FROM YOUR TOMB OF BLANKETS!" He removed one blanket after another until she could move more easily. She struggled to sit up, so the skeleton named Papyrus gently helped her.

"W…Where am I…?" she asked once she found her voice.

"YOU ARE IN MY BROTHER AND I'S HOUSE," Papyrus replied. "OH, THAT REMINDS ME. SANS! COME DOWN HERE! SHE IS AWAKE!"

"S-Sans…?" the girl croaked.

"YES, HE IS MY SHORT, OLDER BROTHER. OH, THAT ALSO REMINDS ME! WHAT IS YOUR NAME?"

"M-My name?"

They both looked to the second floor when they heard a door open and shut. The girl saw a short, wide skeleton in a blue hoodie, white undershirt, black pants, and pink slippers hop lazily down the stairs with his hands tucked into his jacket pockets. He also wore a grin that seemed to be glued onto his face.

"THERE YOU ARE, SANS!" Papyrus scolded. "I WAS ALMOST ABOUT TO DRAG YOU OUT OF BED MYSELF! LOOK, SANS! SHE IS AWAKE!"

"Heh, yeah, I see that, bro," the skeleton named Sans chuckled. "And it only took her three days."

"T-Three…?!" she nearly cried out.

Sans laughed. "Ah, I'm just kidding with ya, kid. It's only been a day. No need to sweat. How ya doing? Feeling okay?"

The girl looked down at her lap and began to shyly tug at the blankets. "I…I guess so…" She couldn't bring herself to look at them.

Furrowing his brow bones, Sans looked to his brother. "Hey, Pap. Why not make her something to eat? She's probably hungry."

"YES! I WILL MAKE HER A FAMOUS BOWL OF MY FAMOUS SPAGHETTI!" Papyrus announced and fled to the kitchen.

When he left, Sans took his place on the couch next to the girl. "Someone sure had a bone to pick with you, eh, kid?" he said with a laugh. The girl didn't exactly know what he meant, but let out a laugh at his joke. Sans saw her confusion and sighed. "Okay, let's get serious for just a moment. What is it you last remember, kid?"

The girl shrugged. "I…I don't really know…I just remember walking…feeling cold…and then, I wake up here. I don't remember anything else."

"Well, do you at least know your own name?" Sans asked. The girl looked to him and shook her head no, her lip shaking like she was about to cry. "Okay, okay, kid, don't get upset," he told her. "You've been through enough."

"W-What do you mean…?" she asked him. Sans pointed to her head. She slowly reached up, but by the second her fingers touched her cheek bones, she looked bothered. She felt her face for a moment. Why was it so cold and hard? Then she looked at her bony hands. They began to tremble as she noticed she was nothing but bone and clothes. Shakily reaching for her head, she, too, became aware of the gaping hole in the back. Mortified of her discovery, she began to panic, as if she was trying to get away from herself. Sans immediately acted and got hold of her before she hurt herself.

"Take it easy, kid, take it easy," he said, holding her firmly in his lap. "It's okay." But the girl began to cry nonetheless. She clung to his hoodie and softly sobbed. He could see a tiny glow of green slide down her cheeks and drip into her dress. He sighed and rubbed her back, trying to calm her down.

"W…What am I…?"she wept.

"You're a monster," Sans answered, "like me and my brother. Specifically, a skeleton."

"H…H-Have I always…been a monster…?" she looked to him.

"I dunno, kid. I just found you half-buried in the snow and brought you here."

"You did…?" She blinked more green tears and then rested her head against his chest. "T-Thank you, Sans…"

Sans chuckled softly and smiled. "No problem, kiddo."

The girl sighed sadly. "But…it would at least make me feel better if I knew what my name was…"

Sans frowned in thought for a moment, then he snapped his fingers. "I think I've got something." He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a red winter cap, placing it onto the girl's head so it covered the gaping hole in the back of her skull. "How about we call you Red?"

"Red?" the girl repeated.

"Yeah, 'cause you got a red hat now. To be honest, I'm not so good with names, and this is the best I can come up with."

The girl tugged on the hat to have it sit more comfortably around her head, playing with the fuzzy ball on top for a few moments. "I like Red," she said with a smile.

Sans chuckled softly, noticing she was missing a tooth on the top left of her mouth. "Also here," he added, handing her some socks and a small pair of brown boots that used to belong to a younger Papyrus. "Wouldn't want your feet to stay cold forever, right?" Red smiled, a little sadder, and slowly slipped on the socks and boots. He also could see she was still upset and confused. Luckily, he knew how to try and cheer her up.

"Hey," he said. "You, uh, wanna know why skeletons can't cross roads?" Red blinked, awaiting his reply. "Because they don't have the GUTS to do it!"

Red stared at him for a moment. Then she started to giggle. "That's funny!"

Sans grinned; he had her hooked. "Hey, did ya know I used to be in a band? Yeah, I was quite good at playing the trom-BONE"—Red laughed more and more—"also on the xylo-BONE, too!"

He chuckled at how much Red was laughing; normally he received groans or a loud "SANS!" from his brother. He was pleased to have another audience who appreciated his witty humor.

He decided to continue. "But I had to quit, so I called the boss on the tele-BONE." Red let out a giggly squeal, cupping one hand over her mouth and the other around her side. "

Hey, I'm glad you find my jokes so… **humerus**!" Red hunched over, overcome with giggles. "But, **tibia** -nest, I'm not that good!" She started slapping her knee. "But it seems they really tickle your funny bone!" Red fell forward into Sans's lap and laughed and laughed. Sans couldn't help but laugh at just how silly the present situation was; here he was, with a girl who was nearly laughing her skull off at his jokes—HIS jokes—that most monsters would be annoyed; he kind of liked it.

"No more!" Red laughed. "I can't take much more!"

"Aw, do I really have to stop? I've got so many more good ones." Red looked up to him pleadingly through her giggles. "Ah, alright, I'll give ya a break."

Then, Papyrus entered with a plate of spaghetti. "HERE YOU ARE, CHILD!" he said proudly, "A WONDERFUL PLATE OF SPAGHETTI MADE MY THE WONDERFUL, GREAT PAPYRUS!"

"Eh, her name's Red now, Pap," Sans said.

"OH, REALLY?" Papyrus blinked. "WELL, HERE YOU GO, RED!"

Red was about to dig in when a thought suddenly came to mind. "How can I eat…if I don't have a stomach?"

Sans chuckled. "Just eat up, kid. Trust me."

"But won't it…fall right through?"

Sans winked. "Trust me."

Red blinked, wondering what he meant, and looked to her plate. She slowly ate, expecting something slippery to plop into her lap and soil her dress. But nothing came. Amazed, she resumed eating until the plate was clean.

Papyrus was ecstatic, pleased to see someone who actually liked his spaghetti enough to finish the entire plate. "I SHALL MAKE YOU SOME MORE!" he said, took the plate, and raced back into the kitchen.

Red licked some spaghetti sauce off her fingers and looked to Sans. "How was I able to eat if I don't have a tummy?"

Sans grinned and leaned in close, like he was telling her a secret. "Well, ya see kid. We monsters, we're made of magic."

"Magic?" Red asked, her eyes glittering. "Really, magic?"

"Yep. Wanna see some?" he asked. Red nodded eagerly, clapping her hands. Sans chuckled and his left eye glowed. "Alright, then. Hold onto your hat." His left hand emanated a soft, blue hue and rose up. Red suddenly realized she rose up into the air too and floated around. Excited, she exclaimed in awe and giggled loudly.

"This is amazing!" she squealed. "I'm flying!"

"Well, more like floating," Sans said. "But I could probably make you fly. If you ask nicely."

Red giggled. "I wanna fly! Please, please!"

"Well, that ain't a question, but I'll let it slide." Sans swirled and gave his wrist a flick, sending Red soaring across the room—and straight for the kitchen. "Uh-oh…"

"WHEEEEE~!" Red cheered as she flew. Then came a loud crashing sound. Sans rushed to the kitchen and saw spaghetti sprawled all over the floor, and all over Red and Papyrus.

"Let's go again!" Red laughed.

"MY SPAGHETTI!" Papyrus cried out.

Sans chuckled nervously. "Whoops. Sorry, Pap. I'll help ya with that." His left eye and hand glowed blue once more, and all of the spilled spaghetti rose from the floor and off of the messy skeletons. "I was just showing Red some magic, bro."

"WELL, PERHAPS A BETTER PLACE WOULD BE OUTSIDE?" Papyrus huffed. "AND WHAT WAS ALL THAT NOISE?"

"Oh, I was also telling Red some of my amazing jokes," Sans said.

"OH, BROTHER…"

"But she seems to really like my…SANS of humor!"

" **SANS!** "

Red hugged her belly and fell onto her back with laughter. She then leapt to her feet and looked up to Sans. "Sans! If what you say is true, and if I am a monster…does that mean I have magic, too?"

"I'm sure it does," Sans answered.

"Cool! But…" Red looked to her hands. "H…How do I do it?"

"Well," Sans began, noticing Red beginning to look tired again, "I'll fill ya in about it tomorrow morning. Okay, kid?"

Red yawned, rubbing her eye sockets. "Okay…" She was led back onto the couch and bundled under some blankets. Once she was settled, she looked up to the brothers.

"Sleep tight, kid," said Sans.

"PLEASANT DREAMS," said Papyrus.

Red shifted to their direction a little. "W-Wait…H-How long am I allowed to stay here?" she asked softly.

Sans and Papyrus exchanged glances, as if they needed to look at each other to agree on an answer, and then looked back to Red. "Well, as long as you want, kiddo," Sans told her. "I mean, you'll have to rest on the couch until we can find ya a proper bed. Where else are ya gonna go?"

"You'd really let me stay here forever? W-Won't I be a bother after a while?"

"NONSENSE!" Papyrus chortled. "WE HAVE ONLY KNOWN YOU FOR THIS LONG AND WE ALREADY THINK OF YOU AS A LITTLE SISTER!"

"You do?"

"OF COURSE! RIGHT, SANS?"

Sans only chuckled as his answer, then reached down and tousled Red's forehead. "Night, Red," he spoke softly, and the two brothers headed up the stairs.

"SANS! I WANT A BEDTIME STORY TONIGHT!" Papyrus's voice rang from behind his bedroom door. "THE ONE ABOUT THE FLUFFY BUNNY!"

"Alright, alright, Papyrus. Now get into bed," came Sans's voice.

Red sighed and played with the trim of the blankets. How could they give her permission to stay with them, just like that? She was a total stranger. She didn't know them and they didn't know her.

Suddenly unable to rest, she got up from the couch, crept up the stairs, and peeked into Papyrus's room, where the two brothers nestled into a racecar-shaped bed and Sans read his tall, younger brother a story. She smiled a little at how they cuddled up to each other, like they were all the other had in the whole world. Red could see that Sans took good care of Papyrus; she also saw that being the oldest, he had to work the hardest, even though he had a sort of lethargic appearance. The thought of Sans pushing himself to more effort because of another house guest saddened her. With only the two of them to look out for each other, it wouldn't seem right to throw in a stranger like her.

With a sigh, Red parted from the crack in the door, and sluggishly headed downstairs.

* * *

"SANS! **SANS!** "

Papyrus's frantic shouts pulled Sans from deep sleep. With a groan and a yawn, he sat up in bed, stretched, slipped on his slippers, put on his hoodie, and headed downstairs, the sleep still not quite lifted from his eye sockets. "What is it, Papyrus…?"

"SANS! RED IS GONE!"

"What…?" Sans headed for the couch and indeed saw it was empty. Nothing but crumpled blankets and a note sitting on the pillow. He picked it up and read it.

" _Dear Sans and Papyrus,_

 _By the time you read this, I will be somewhere else than on this couch. Thank you so much for your hospitality. I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for your generosity. Thank you for giving me someplace warm to sleep, good food to eat, and making me feel better. And I also greatly appreciated the offer to stay with you guys forever._

 _But I just can't._

 _It just doesn't seem right. As much as I loved being with you, I just can't stay. I don't want to burden you guys with another mouth to feed. You both work hard enough to take care of each other. I don't know if I will see you guys again, but I will never forget you._

 _Papyrus, thank you for the spaghetti. It was very delicious._

 _And Sans…thank you for the hat and name._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Red._

"Kid, you gotta be kidding me…" Sans grunted and tossed the note aside as he headed for the door.

"WAIT, SANS! WHAT DID IT SAY?!" Papyrus called after him; when he didn't answer, he picked up the note and read it, sadness slowly edging onto his face as he read word for word.

Sans raced outside, hoping he could follow Red's tracks just like how he found her, but it was snowing heavily outside, so any sort of trail Red had made would be already covered by snow. In other words, Sans had no idea where to start looking.

Red slowly trudged through the ankle-deep snow, hugging herself tightly as she ventured blindly through the forest to seek shelter from the heavy snowfall. She often glanced behind her and saw her tracks slowly being refilled by the snow, like they were never there, and then kept going. Each time she looked back, she thought of Sans and Papyrus. She wondered if they had found her note by now, if they were deciding on going after her. She wondered if they would meet again, and if they did, if they would persuade her to come home with them. It didn't matter. Even if she wanted to, she wouldn't go back home with them. They were nice hosts, but she didn't want to be a burden to those guys.

But she couldn't help but wonder if she would find anyone as kind and hospitable as them, and her eye sockets started to flood with tears.

 _WE HAVE ONLY KNOWN YOU FOR THIS LONG AND ALREADY THINK OF YOU AS A LITTLE SISTER…_

Won't I be a bother?

 _Where else are ya gonna go?_

I don't want to be a burden…

 _NONSENSE!_

Red blinked tears and sniffled softly, clutching herself. Part of her told her to turn around, the other forced her to press onward, but with each step she took, the more she longed for the warm, cozy couch she first woke upon. She had wandered so dazedly and absentmindedly through the forest that she hadn't realized she had come to a clearing in the forest where the snow didn't fall.

"Howdy!"

Red was startled by the sudden new voice. She looked around but saw no one. Starting to shiver, she swallowed and called back, her voice wavering, "H-Hello…?"

"Over here, kid!"

Red looked to the voice to see something in the clearing. It appeared to be a golden flower with a smiling face. "W-Who are you…?" she asked.

The flower grinned and replied, "Don't be scared of me, kid. My name is Flowey. Flowey the flower!"

* * *

 _ **~End of Part One~**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Little Sister—an UNDERTALE Fan Fiction, part 2**

* * *

 **Summary: after leaving the Skelebros' house, Red encounters a strange flower, unaware of how much trouble she was about to get into, and how much she would be unable to handle.**

 **(My very first fic of this, so please be gentle if I do not get every single detail right. If you are not interested or don't like at all, then don't read)**

 **UNDERTALE © Toby Fox Games**

 **Red © Me**

* * *

 **~Little Sister~**

"My name is Flowey. Flowey the flower!"

Red blinked at the sight of the smiling golden flower. He just suddenly appeared right in front of her. She didn't remember seeing a flower there—at least, she didn't think she remembered. Did he suddenly pop out of nowhere with magic like Sans? She felt a little nervous to ask.

"F-Flowey?" Red echoed the name. "T-That's, uh…a fitting name, I suppose."

The flower laughed. "Well, in this world, monsters aren't so good at names." Red started to laugh, too, but suddenly remembered Sans saying the same thing. She started to miss him and Papyrus something awful. Her feelings must have showed on her face, for Flowey spoke out shortly after.

"Hey, what's wrong, kid?" he asked.

Red sniffled and wiped her eyes. "Nothing," she sighed. "I was just…thinking of some new friends I've made, that's all…"

"They must be good friends to make you cry just by thinking about them," said Flowey.

Red shrugged, beginning to tug at her dress. She didn't mean to start crying; besides, they weren't tears of sorrow. She felt happy thinking of Sans and Papyrus, but at the same time, she felt a little sad. She soon realized that the more she thought of them, the more she missed them, and the more tears that flowed from her sockets. Overcome with emotion, Red sat down in the snow, hugged her legs tightly to her chest, and started to cry.

"Aw, what's wrong?" Flowey asked, tilting his petal head.

Red wanted to say, "I miss Sans and Papyrus, I want to go home!", but she felt too afraid to admit her true feelings to this mysterious flower. Instead of saying what she truly felt, she replied, hiccupping between every other word, "I have no home! I don't know where to go! I don't know what to do!"

Flowey smiled and said in a friendly manner, "Aw, don't cry, Red."

Red was about to continue making up stuff to help her feel better, but she stopped and looked up to the flower, blinking away tears and looking to Flowey hesitantly. "H-Hey…" she said with a sniffle, "how d-do you know my…?"

"Name?" Flowey finished. "Well, you know how we monsters are made of magic? I have magic that lets me get to know people, just by looking at them! Isn't that neat?!"

Red truthfully thought it was a little spooky, but nodded meekly and wiped any remaining tears with her sleeve.

"Jeez, you must care a lot about them if they make you this upset," Flowey said.

"I-I'm not upset…" Red told him. "I just…"

"Love them?"

Red looked up to him again. "W-What…?"

"Do you love those boys?"

Red shivered, but not from the cold. It started to scare her that this flower already knew so much about her, and not even five minutes had gone by. If he did have such magic to read people, she wondered how much he could read from her when she knew so little about herself. "D-Do you mean Sans and Papyrus?"

"Yes!" Flowey nodded, twirling his leaves. "Those two are well-known in Snowdin! I heard they just showed up out of the blue and made themselves at home here! The tall one is pretty cool, but the short one is rather interesting, isn't he?"

Red felt like she was about to cry again and looked down to the boots Sans had given her, nodding quickly and swiping an arm over her eye sockets, trying in vain to stop any tears from coming.

"Wow, you cry a lot," Flowey said. "I don't mean to make fun, but you seem really hurt and confused."

"C-Confused…" Red swallowed a sob, "doesn't cover it…! I don't even know who I really am. S-Sans said I'm a monster, like him and Papyrus, but…I-I don't know why, but…" She looked up to Flowey, who wore an interested look on his white face, like he was eager to hear more from her. She flushed and looked to her lap, starting to play with her hands. "N-Never mind…"

"No, no! Continue," he urged her. "If something is bothering you, it isn't healthy to keep it locked away. Pour your heart out—or whatever it is you have."

Something in Red's mind told her to keep her mouth shut, but seeing the flower's positive—and creepy—smile made her feel a little less uneasy, and she complied. "Well…for some reason, I…I feel like there is more to my story…but I…I can't remember." She absentmindedly began to play with the back of her red hat, where what remained of her skull curved inward to the gaping hole.

Flowey let out a long 'hmm', and suddenly ruffled his petals when he seemed to have a solution. "Hey! I think I know how to help!"

Red perked up. "You do?"

Flowey nodded. "Come closer," he said, gesturing her to draw nearer with his leaf. Red crawled over and sat on her legs only a few feet in front of him. He made another gesture for her to lean down to his height; she did so, and he softly spoke to her. "What if I told you I could discover your past? The things you can't remember?"

Red's face lit up with joy; Flowey seemed to like that, for his grin grew slightly. "Really? You'd do that?" she asked him.

"Of course! I can help find out where you came from, who your family is or was, and even how you got that hole in your head."

Red's smile vanished briefly as she rested her hands on the back of her hat. "H-How did you know…?"

"My magic, remember?" Flowey said with a giggle. "So, would you like my help?" Red blinked at Flowey, then glanced down at her lap to think for a moment. "Come on, you can trust me!" he encouraged her more. "You've only just met those skeleton boys and you trusted them. If you can feel safe around them, you can feel safe around me."

Red sighed softly, frowning to herself in thought. He did have a point; if she could trust Sans and Papyrus despite having just met them, then she could do the same for Flowey. She looked up to him with a smile and nodded her head. "Okay, Flowey. I trust you."

"Excellent!" Flowey exclaimed. "First, you must do something in order for me to learn of your past." Suddenly, a ring of spinning, white pebbles surrounded Flowey. "Just touch one of these… _friendliness pellets_ …and I will be able to know EVERYTHING about you! Go on, Red, touch one! Pick a pellet, any pellet!"

Red giggled at Flowey's eagerness and reached out to one. "Okay, okay, I am. Why are you so excited—?"

The second a finger grazed one of the pellets, she felt a throbbing pain in her chest. Before she could react, she felt herself fly back and slide across the snow, landing with a yelp. Her strength suddenly vanished, leaving her feeling weak and dizzy. Her head spun as she tried to come to terms with what just happened. Then, a feeling of fear overcame her as she heard sinister laughter coming from Flowey; the vile expression on his face was even more frightening.

" _You little IDIOT!_ " he chortled. His voice sounded deeper and darker compared to his cheerful tone seconds before. He also began to transform into a horrible creature, thorns growing from his stem as he rose higher and higher from the ground; he looked less like a flower and more like a potent thorn bush.

Red whimpered, slowly rolling onto her side and rising to her knees. "B-But Flowey…y-you said I could trust you…"

Flowey threw his head back and laughed. " _That's why you're an idiot! You find a random flower in the middle of nowhere and befriend it just like that?! Wow, you are so gullible!_ "

Red cringed and looked away, beginning to regret her decisions for ever thinking she could trust Flowey. He wasn't like Sans or Papyrus, so why had she trusted him so easily? Her train of thought was interrupted as she felt something creep up her legs and arms. Looking through blurry eyes, she realized her limbs were wrapped in vines. She let out a fearful cry and struggled to get free, but nothing happened.

" _However,_ " Flowey said, " _I will still help you with your struggles. It's the least I could do for an old pal._ "

"O…Old pal?" Red barely managed to get out before being pulled towards Flowey and lifted into the air. More vines began to tightly wind around her until all except her head was completely cocooned. She tried struggling again, but still nothing happened. "W-What do you mean, old pal, Flowey?!"

Flowey wore a demonic grin that sent shivers down Red's spine. " _I'd be glad to explain it all to you,_ " he said. " _You may not know this—or at least not remember—but monsters and these beings called humans were once at war. The humans defeated us and cast us here in the Underground. A barrier was made so we would forever be trapped. However, humans have visited this world time and time again. Over the years, six have come and gone, and I've met them all. But none ever left the Underground._ "

"W…What happened to these…humans?" Red dared to ask.

" _Why, they were all killed,_ " Flowey said, laughing at Red's shocked expression. " _By the great king of this world, Asgore! He destroyed them and took their souls, hoping to break the barrier so monsters could return to the surface!_ "

"That's horrible!" Red cried.

" _Oh, don't make it such a fuss! It was only six humans!_ " Flowey's expression curled even deeper, creating more dark shadows across his face. " _Or was it?_ "

Red swallowed. "W-What are you saying…?"

Flowey snickered and continued. " _It is said that the barrier can only be broken if seven human souls are found. Asgore managed to collect six. However, that doesn't mean there were just six humans._ "

"There were more?"

" _Oh, yes. A total of seven humans have fallen down Mount Ebbot, but only six were killed by Asgore. One of them managed to escape his hand. But that doesn't mean she survived._ "

"It was a girl…?" Red said.

" _Yes, she was. She was a petite, little thing. Always smiling and laughing. She went by the name…_ Nyala _, I believe. She befriended the monsters, but the Royal Guard turned her in to the king nonetheless. Why? Because they were ordered to do so; because they wanted freedom from this wretched place so badly, they were willing to give up the life of this little girl._ "

"H-How did she escape Asgore?"

" _When she was brought to the king, she began to cry. She cried her poor little heart out, believing her tears would save her from her fate. King Asgore pitied her, but he declared he had no choice and made a move to attack. Not wanting to die, the girl fled past the Royal Guard and left the castle, Asgore following her outside. He hunted her down, determined not to disappoint his people, knowing how much they needed her soul. He eventually chased her to a ledge on the outskirts of Snowdin. She sobbed and pleaded for him to spare her, trembling like a pathetic leaf._ "

"But, you said he didn't kill her. So…what happened?"

" _She fell. Slipped right off the ledge, falling and falling and falling into the deep darkness below,_ " Flowey answered, almost in a sing-song tone. " _They say she hit her head when she reached the bottom._ _Not wanting to upset his subjects, he told the people that he collected her soul, and that one of the others had become useless, so they still had six souls total._ "

Red squirmed a little as the vines became a bit tighter. "O-Okay…But, what does any of this have to do with me?"

" _Are you really that DUMB?!_ " Flowey spat. " _That last thing I said should have been a given!_ "

"Why?"

" _Because it's why you have that empty feeling in the back of your mind._ "

Red sharply gasped. Too suddenly, it all came together, like a nightmarish puzzle. Feeling something in her chest pounding violently, she trembled through the vines while glancing down at Flowey. "Y…You mean…?"

" _Now you're finally catching on_ ," Flowey chortled. " _That's right! You were that one, lost human! You fell, hit your head, and died! But death wasn't the end for you, oh no. Your soul managed to stay alive while your body withered away! You became nothing but bones and clothes! Sometime after, someone found you and used magic upon your weakened soul, so when you were to awaken, you would be just like us! A little monster! You eventually did awaken from your slumber, weak and confused, and wandered blindly around until you reached the forest like nothing happened! Don't you get it, you little brat?! You're a walking, talking corpse! A monster!_ "

Flowey laughed hysterically while rivers of tears flowed freely from Red's eye sockets. She wanted to scream and cry, but her voice remained stuck. She didn't want to believe it. It couldn't be true. "Y…You're lying…!" she croaked.

" _Believe me, I am not,_ " Flowey growled a chuckle, coiling the vines tighter around her, causing her to cry out. " _And now that I have the seventh former human in my grasp, I can take your transformed soul and finally rule this world! NOW DIE, YOU LITTLE BRAT!_ "

Red squeaked and choked groans as the vines became tighter and tighter and tighter around her tiny body. She didn't bother to struggle; she was already at war with herself in her mind. Everything she had just learned…it was too much. It scared her—no, it petrified her. How in the world could this have happened? Why did it happen? Why to her? Knowing the truth, it gave her a burning sensation…in her eye?

She shouted in agony as she felt her left eye socket burn like it was on fire. All she could see were bright flashes and flickers of green. The pain caused her to wail and wriggle violently. She felt like her skull was about to crack and shatter to pieces. Her flowing tears began to sting her bony cheeks. What was happening?

" _Do you feel that?_ " Flowey asked over Red's shrieking. " _That is your magic awakening. It hurts a little, doesn't it?_ "

"IT HURTS! IT HURTS SO MUCH! MAKE IT STOP!"

" _Oh, but why would you want it to stop? You were so looking forward to learning how to use it, weren't you?_ "

"HELP ME!" Red screamed. "SOMEONE, PLEASE! HELP ME!"

Flowey laughed even more hysterically, the vines growing from him shaking with each guffaw. " _HOW PRECIOUS! How adorable! Go ahead, you little runt! Scream! Scream and cry for help! But no one will come! No one ever comes!_ "

Red screamed and hollered out of anguish and utter fear for her life; but just as Flowey stated, nobody came.

Flowey chuckled darkly and drew Red near to him. " _Now, then, how about we make this quick? Would you like your death to be quick and painless, or eternal and agonizing?!_ "

He suddenly let out a choked gasp.

The sound earned Red's attention enough for her to stop screaming. She forced her eye sockets open and saw a very bizarre sight—Flowey was now blue!

"Is there a _none-of-the-above_ option?" came a voice from close by. "'Cause I'm sure the kid isn't lookin' forward to dying today."

 _That voice…_ Red thought and frantically looked to where the voice was coming from. What she saw caused tears of mirth to stream down her green-flushed cheeks. "S-Sans!"

The short, big-boned skeleton entered the clearing, his left eye socket and hand glowing a bluish aura, which seemed to have an effect on Flowey. His grin was stiff, like he was determined about something. "And frankly," Sans continued, snapping his fingers, "I'm not lookin' forward to _that_."

Right before Red's eyes, three enormous bones—two white and one blue—magically appeared, aimed directly at Flowey, and flew into him. The white bones did some damage, but Flowey groaned out of anger and pain when the blue bone struck him. It also caused the vines concealing Red to dissipate and drop her. With a frightened shriek, she fell through the air, but realized she never touched the ground. When she opened her eye sockets, she noticed she, too, had a blue aura around her. It made her feel safe and a little more calm. She looked to Sans and saw his hand was extended towards her.

"No worries, kid, I've got ya," he told her. He scoffed a light chuckle at the sight of her glowing, green left eye. "I see you've figured out your magic. When we get outta this, I'll show ya how it works."

"S-Sans…!" Red squeaked, continuing to weep at the wonderful, relieving sight of her friend.

Flowey growled and glared with enmity to the two skeletons. " _You big-boned freak_!" he spat. " _You will die along with her_!" Vines were aimed directly towards them at incredible speed, but Sans managed to have himself and Red avoid being entangled in Flowey's trap. He led Red in his direction and tucked her safely under his arm. She clung tightly to his hoodie and whimpered, trembling and convulsing uncontrollably.

"Take it easy, Red," Sans told her. "It's okay. I won't let ya get hurt." But despite his attempts at comforting her, Red's green eye continued to flare and flicker; he knew what that meant—she was struggling to relax. If she didn't calm herself soon, things wouldn't be pretty.

"I…I can't…" Red hiccupped. "I…I'm scared…I'm so scared…It hurts…It hurts and it won't go away…! Please, help me…!"

"I will, kiddo." Once they were a presumably safe distance from Flowey, Sans placed Red against a tree, then began to walk towards their opponent. "Just stay there and calm yourself down."

Red gasped. Was he going to fight Flowey on his own? How could he possibly take on someone like that with the power Flowey possessed? So many horrible outcomes played in her mind, only making her anxiety even worse. "B-But Sans!" she cried. "He's dangerous!"

Sans only laughed. "This weed? Dangerous? I've seen scarier things come from my brother's cooking." He then turned his head towards her, grinned a confident grin, and winked. "I'll be okay, kid. You can trust me on that."

At that moment, Red felt a brief moment of peace when she saw that familiar grin and wink. It reminded her of the friends she made and how safe she felt around them. Even though it was the two of them against Flowey, she felt protected by Sans. It was enough to calm her down a little more, and her left eye's green glow diminished to a tiny flame.

Feeling a bit more at ease knowing Red was beginning to relax, Sans focused his attention on Flowey, who fidgeted and snarled and still appeared blue. Sans looked up to the overgrown weed and smirked. "Talk about a growth spurt. Whadja, do, eat extra fertilizer?" Flowey only growled as an answer, unable to move due to being under the power of Sans's magic.

Sans chuckled slowly, looking down at the snow for a moment. "You've got a lot o' nerve, messing with poor, little kids," he said. "Especially those who don't know their way around. And, from what I've seen so far, you've managed to get my friend here pretty shaken up. Might I ask what exactly did you say or do to her?"

" _It doesn't concern you_!" Flowey spat.

Sans raised a brow bone. "Oh? Well, pal, I like to believe that if you hurt my friends, then I have a right to be concerned. Now, what did you do to the kid?"

Flowey grinned sickly and snickered. " _I only told her the truth_ ," he answered. " _She wanted to know about herself, and I helped her with what she couldn't remember. It is not my fault she isn't taking it so well_."

"And what might that be, this truth?" Sans asked, still smirking.

Flowey laughed again. " _Do not pretend you don't know_." Sans furrowed his brow bones and tensed his grin. Flowey guffawed softly, lowering himself to Sans's height. " _Since this business is only between me and the brat, I'll let you live. Her soul will be mine, it belongs to me! And with it, I shall finally rule this world, and achieve my goals_!"

Sans shook his head, chuckling. "Go ahead. But if she has a monster's soul inside of her, then it's of no use to you. Why kill her for a soul you can't use?"

" _Her soul WILL be mine!_ " Flowey bellowed. " _Whether she was born a monster or a human, her soul is still tainted with remains of her human life! Therefore, I CAN use it for my purposes!_ "

Sans looked up to Flowey, his eye sockets becoming empty, deep, and black, like an endless void that could suck you in if you strayed too close. It was frightening enough to give Red the shivers. "And what makes you think I am going to allow that, buddy?" Sans asked the demonic flower before him. Red noticed a change in his tone, something she had never heard before.

Flowey stared at Sans for a long moment, then his grin returned. He began to snicker, then chuckle, and then guffaw hysterically. " _You're more of a fool than that brat_!" he hissed. " _If you wish to stand in my way, then so be it!_ _I will have your soul as well_!"

The skeleton smirked, feeling challenged. "It's been a while since I've had to do this," he muttered, and he released his hold on Flowey.

"No!" Red shouted as she watched Flowey's blue color vanish, once more beginning to fear for her beloved friend's safety. "Sans, don't let him get you!"

But the battle began nonetheless. Flowey shot thorny vines and white pellets at Sans, but the skeleton easily dodged them. Sans's glowing eye became enflamed with blue fire and magic as he prepared an attack of his own. Nearly a dozen bones magically appeared with a snap of his fingers, all of them targeting and striking Flowey. The wretched plant failed to dodge and received heavy blows from Sans's attack, but he wasn't done yet.

Red silently watched the brawl from a safe distance. She expected Flowey to suddenly turn away and fire an attack on her; he had tried a few times, after all, but Sans always prevented any harm from coming to her. As much as she admired him and was amazed by his power, she still worried. She knew Sans couldn't dodge forever. What would happen when that moment came? But she couldn't think about that now. She chose to think of Sans achieving victory over this battle, and the two of them would return home together, and—

 _ **CRACK!**_

The sickening sound filled the air as Sans was slammed into a tree by one of Flowey's attacks, landing forcefully near his side. He bit back a yelp as he felt a few of his ribs crack from the impact, and the pain increased when he fell onto the snow on his injured side. But the sound not only had an effect on him.

Red suddenly found herself feeling stiff. She couldn't move an inch. That sound played back in her head—the sound of bones cracking. It sounded…familiar. She listened closely; she didn't hear it in her ribs, like Sans. She heard the snapping and cracking behind her, yet so very close. As she listened, the sound crept to the back of her mind—then it became clear.

She was listening to the sound of her own skull cracking.

With the sound, vague images flashed before her dark eyes. She saw many blurred faces, like they were rushing by her at supersonic speed; she was suddenly surrounded by lots of white, then a creeping darkness, and then nothing but black. She felt the feeling of...weightlessness. Before everything went dark, though, the sound came again.

 _ **CRACK!**_

Red unconsciously held the back of her head, her fingers grasping the edges of the gaping hole. As she held a tight hold, tiny crackles could be heard. She felt so frightened and confused. What was happening? Was she experiencing a buried memory? She willed the sound and image to go away, trying to force them out of her head, but they continued to torment her thoughts. She felt her left eye burning brighter, and brighter, and brighter. The cracking noise was so loud in her head that she didn't hear Flowey's bellowing laughter.

" _I warned you, didn't I, bone man_?!" Flowey shouted, laughing at Sans as he struggled to get to his knees.

"W-What are ya talking about, ya overgrown weed?" Sans winced, hugging his injured side, as he wobbled to his feet. His glowing eye diminished as his strength left him in an instant, and he knelt back down onto the snow. "I-I ain't through with you yet…"

" _Don't you try and act all tough for your little friend_! _Everyone knows you are the weakest among us! One blow is all it takes to finish you off, whether it kills you or not! And since my last attack hasn't done so yet…then my next one WILL! Prepare to DIE_!"

Flowey fired countless thorns, pellets and vines directly at the immobile skeleton. Sans squeezed his sockets shut so he wouldn't see the blow coming. He waited, and waited, but the attack never hit him. Slowly lifting one socket after another, he realized why he hadn't been hit. A huge bone was blocking the way. He blinked with confusion. Did he do that? He didn't recall using an attack to shield himself. Something then caught his attention, something from his upper left, right where he placed Red. He glanced there, immediately gasping. His skeleton face twisted into a baffled, uneasy expression.

"K-Kid…" he stammered. "How did you…? Y-You can…You can glow _both_ of your eyes…?!"

* * *

 _ **~End of Part Two~**_

 **A/N: YOU HAVE FALLEN VICTIM TO…..THE DREADFUL CLIFFHANGER! ^^**


	3. Chapter 3

**Little Sister—an UNDERTALE Fan Fiction, part 3**

 **Summary: extremely overwhelmed, Red begins behaving…unlike herself, and Sans must stop her before she hurts herself, or anyone else.**

 **(My very first fic of this, so please be gentle if I do not get every single detail right. If you are not interested or don't like at all, then don't read)**

 **UNDERTALE © Toby Fox Games**

 **Red © Me**

* * *

 **~Little Sister~**

"Y-You can…You can glow _both_ of your eyes…?!"

Sans knelt there in the snow, bewildered by the sight of the small skeleton child. Red had a convulsing arm extended outward, twitching fingers, her teeth were sharper and jagged, and both of her sockets glowed bright green, but only the left remained enflamed. She wore a painful expression on her cringing face that was a blend of multiple emotions: fear, sorrow, anguish…and even rage.

"Red…" Sans uttered softly, his brow bones furrowing in a sad manner. He didn't want to make a wrong move, worrying his actions might startle Red and cause her to lash out, so he remained where he was. If he had a stomach, he would feel a cold emptiness inside. What got him really concerned was the fact that both of the child's eyes were glowing brightly. From his own experience, and despite being unable to glow both eyes, he knew that meant she was very, _very_ upset.

Flowey growled menacingly, sneering at the smaller skeleton. " _What's this_?" he hissed. " _You seem to know your magic. Yet you claim to have no knowledge of it._ " He chuckled darkly, focusing his bulging eyes on Sans now. " _Would it somehow be due to the fact_ ," he continued, " _that you remember seeing someone use their magic_?"

Sans flared his blue eye as he snarled at the horrendous weed. "Leave the kid alone," he demanded. "If you make her condition any worse—!"

"Yes…" came Red's wavering voice, earning both of their attention once more. "I do…I do remember. It's…It's only in bits and pieces, though; t-they don't come out clearly, but…I see it. I see these…black figures…doing stuff with magic. Amazing things…and horrifying things. Blue lights…orange lights…flying everywhere, all around me…" Red now wore a distant look in her eye sockets, like she had become lost in her agonizing memories. "The movements…that controlled the magic…I see those, too. So, that's…That's how I can…"

Sans's eye sockets rounded at what he had been hearing. If Red could remember that much before her…accident…what else could she remember? He tried to hide his troubled feelings by forcing out a chuckle. "T-That's, uh…quite impressive, kiddo," he told her, "being able to do magic based off of a long-gone memory. That takes an awful lot of skill and power. Of course, you still gotta learn from the best. S-So, don't strain yourself, okay, kid?" With the expression on Red's face, it almost seemed like she hadn't heard a single word he said. She appeared to be focused on something else, yet her gaze wasn't fixed on anything. Sans clenched his bony fists as he slowly stood up. He couldn't watch this any longer. He had to do something. Very slowly, he took a step forward, the snow crunching beneath his feet.

 _ **CRACK!**_

Red heard the nerve-wracking sound again when Sans stepped forward. She sharply gasped, her face twisting into a look of fear and rage. "No!" she screamed. "Get away from me!" She turned her head away and swiped her hands through the air, unaware of the attack she had created. Bones with a misty green aura appeared out of thin air and aimed for Sans, yet they missed and landed around him instead of striking him. But it was still enough to stop Sans in his tracks and freeze like a statue. He didn't move a single bone, shivering a little at how close the attack had landed to him. He looked to Red, who now huddled in the snow, hugging her head and crying. Sans knew he had to help. But what could he do without setting Red off again?

He then heard Flowey chuckle sinisterly and raised his skull to him. " _I see_ ," he said. " _She is off somewhere else. She may be here physically, but her shattered mind is lingering in another place. What she sees or hears is not the same for us, but something different. You might say the little runt isn't home at the moment._ "

"Will you _shut the hell up_?" Sans hissed. "It's because of you she is suffering like this."

" _Me_?" the flower said innocently, then reared his head back in laughter. " _It's her own fault! I only gave her what she asked! She is causing her mind to break even more by allowing it to overwhelm her_! _All she has to do is let go of her trouble, then she can move on._ " A twisted grin grew on Flowey's ugly face as he laughed again. " _But that WON'T happen. I won't ALLOW it to happen_!"

Sans gasped and made a move to run to Red, but thorny vines coiled tightly around him and suspended him in the air. No matter how much he struggled, nothing happened. "Red!" he shouted to her. "Get out of here!" But she still wasn't listening.

The demonic weed snickered maniacally and slithered his way to the frightened skeleton child. " _Oh, Red_ ~~" he said in a sing-song manner, " _Can you hear it_? _Can you hear the sound of your bones breaking? The sound of your skull splitting open? The sounds of the world around you slowly fading away? Can you see the darkness creeping into your eyes? Can you feel your body run cold as death begins to claim you?_ "

"No more…" Red wept, gripping the sides of her skull even tighter. "No more…M-Make it stop…!"

" _Aw, are you scared?_ " Flowey mockingly cooed. " _Well, you should be. But I know a solution. You can either live on suffering like this, or…you can give me your soul and escape this pain by dying._ "

"Don't listen, kid!" Sans exclaimed, struggling as much as he could, yet still wouldn't budge free. If he could just get his hand free…

" _Trust me, you little brat. This is the only way you can be free from this agony. No more dark memories. No more pain. And no more having to deal with the loud-mouth skeleton, either, or his annoying brother. So…Nyala…What will it be_?" Flowey received no reply. His eyes darkened and his grin curled further. " _No answer? That's fine. I will use your silence as confirmation_!"

The weed prepared to impale the shivering child with jagged pellets, but the pellets veered off course as Flowey was stabbed himself by numerous bones. Making groaning, choking noises, he eerily turned his head towards the skeleton behind him.

Sans's left eye flared furiously as he had a hand extended towards Flowey. His usual grin was no longer there. "You filthy, overgrown weed!" he shouted. "You will not hurt her, you hear me?! Or else you're gonna be in for something far worse than just a bad time!"

" _Your threats are meaningless in your current situation, you bumbling numbskull,_ " the flower spat back, lunging close to Sans's face and tightening the vines around his body. " _Your attacks alone aren't enough to stop me. Go ahead and throw me a bone. The brat will still die, and you are lucky that I will let you live long enough to watch her turn into a pile of dust_!"

Sans let a yelp slip as his arm was pushed further into his injured rib cage, causing them to crack more and more. But he couldn't let his pain show. He had to be strong for Red so she wouldn't be afraid. However, the pain in his side burned more than his flaming eye.

" _Ohh, does that hurt_?" Flowey taunted. " _Well, would you like me to go ahead and put you out of your misery? That way you won't watch the child suffer—_ _ **AAAUGH**_ **!** "

Confused as to why the vile flower was suddenly in pain, Sans glanced down to Flowey's writhing stem and widened his sockets to see five jagged bones, enflamed by green fire, had penetrated clean through. His eyes shifted to Red, and just as he had anticipated, there she was, standing stiff in the snow, a firm arm stretched out towards the plant, a fierce look in her eyes. She snarled, baring her jagged teeth. Her hand was surrounded by a flickering green flame; each time her fingers twitched, the flame sparked, indicating a single movement would release a second attack. Sans was afraid it would come to this.

"Put…him… _down_ ," Red hissed.

Flowey panted and quivered in pain, but he managed to laugh at her. " _That's it! Give in to the magic you feel! It feels good to use it for the wrong purposes, doesn't it_?!" He was silenced by another bone impaling him.

"I said, put him DOWN!"

Red was shouting now, not a single ounce of fear, or any other emotion, heard in her voice. There was nothing but hate. Flowey continued twisting and coiling in pain, hissing loudly, but the young skeleton seemed not to bat an eye socket about it. Who would for such a monster like this?

The vines' hold on Sans loosened, and the skeleton slipped through, landing in the snow below. Paying no mind to the pain in his side, he sat up quickly and got to his knees. He watched the flustered young skeleton; her face was contorted into an expression of hate and spite towards Flowey. Her glowing hand trembled with such negative emotions, and she had the look of a killer in her eyes. That look sent shivers crawling down Sans's spine. He couldn't allow this to escalate any further.

Hugging his side, he slowly got to his feet. "Red, listen…" he called out to her. He stopped when she looked straight at him without moving her head. He gulped and forced his usual smile to stay where it was, inching closer and closer to her. "Kid…this isn't you," he said as she looked away again. "I know it isn't. You'd never hurt anyone, no matter what. You're not a killer." A sharp pain surged through his boy when he stumbled, nearly causing the unstable Red to lash out at him. "I know, kid. You've been told things you don't like. You now know things you wish you didn't. You're scared and upset. I know how that feels, believe me. But it's okay. It's all going to be okay…" He reached out and held the hand by her side and squeezed it.

He noticed a reaction from the child. Her expression had softened, like something had interrupted her thoughts. Her extended arm relaxed a little, her hand glowed a little less, and her left eye's flame flickered and slightly diminished. Sans grabbed her hand with both of his and held it tightly. "Come on, kiddo," he continued. "Just let it go. That's all it takes. Just let go, and we can go back home. You can stay with me and Pap. Remember, like we said?"

Red could hear a voice coming through to her; a familiar voice that made her feel…safe, and comfortable. She slowly lowered her arm to her side, the green aura fleeing from her hand, as she looked down to the snow. "H…Home…?"

"Yeah," he said, placing an arm around her shoulders, wincing as it strained his wounded ribs. "We can go home, eat some of Pap's spaghetti, or go pay Grillby's a visit. Or we can just sleep and be lazy. Doesn't that sound good?"

Gradually, Sans noticed a change in Red's behavior. She began to relax under his arm, her eyes ceased glowing, the flame diminished, and all of the magic stopped; any remaining bones lingering dissipated. She had a calm, depressed look on her face, but in an instant, she burst into tears and clung to Sans as though her life depended on it.

"I'm sorry!" she cried. "I'm so sorry!"

Sans wrapped both arms around her, ignoring the pain in his side, and squeezed. "You've got nothing to be sorry for, kiddo." He then heard raspy panting and looked to Flowey, who was shakily returning to his original form as a flower. The plant glared at them, a dark liquid seeping from the corners of his mouth; he trembled with what lingering pains he felt, growling and snarling. But the skeleton wasn't fazed one bit.

His left eye threateningly shone its blue aura. "Get the _hell_ outta here," he demanded calmly, "or you'll soon start _begging_ me to rip you from the ground." Flowey flashed another sneer, and then disappeared into the ground.

Sans sighed and blinked away the magic in his left eye. He looked down to Red and smiled, kneeling down in the snow with her. "You okay?" he asked. Red answered honestly by shaking her head no. Sans laughed softly. "Yeah, probably should have expected that. But, things will be okay. Trust me." He laid her head in his lap, allowing her to calm down before they headed back.

"Are…you hurt?" Red asked tiredly.

"Ah, not too serious," Sans answered. "A bit of rest oughta do the trick."

"Where's Papyrus…?"

"Back home. I told him to stay there and wait while I went to look for you. You really gave us quite the scare, kid."

Red cringed and squirmed a little. "Sorry…I just thought…"

"You'd be a burden?" Sans finished. The smaller skeleton nodded meekly with a sniffle. The older rested a hand on her shoulder and sighed. "Red, you could never be a burden. Believe me, it's no problem having another mouth to feed. Besides, you're a skeleton. Who else are you gonna live with, Blooky?"

But Red didn't laugh; she didn't feel very spirited like Sans. She stirred a little in his lap after a few moments and said, "Sans…Flowey said you knew something about me…Was he telling the truth?" The other skeleton was silent for a moment, looking off in the distance. Red briefly glanced up to him and saw his sockets were pitch-black again. "S-Sans…?"

Sans sighed, closing his sockets for a short while. He then looked down to her, a distant, sad smile on his face. "It's quite a story. Do ya have the patience to hear it?"

Red nodded faintly.

"Okay. Now, where to begin? Well…like Flowey said, you were one of the seven humans who had fallen from Mount Ebott. You were the fourth to have fallen, I think. Your name was Nyala. You were a typical kid: loved to have fun, always curious, and you loved to play."

"I did?"

"Yeah. You came through Snowdin one day and we met at this…gate-thingy my brother made. I pulled the whoopee-cushion-in-the-hand trick on you, and you just busted out laughing, like it was the best thing you had ever heard. Heh, you always got a kick out of my jokes."

Red giggled and shifted into a comfortable position in his lap as he continued.

"You hung out with Papyrus and me for a while. You know, you were one of the very few who actually liked Pap's cooking and still are, apparently. You often called us your big brothers; Papyrus was so flattered that he once dropped a pot of spaghetti. You and I laughed while he yelled and cleaned up the mess. You were fascinated by our magic and constantly wanted us to use it to play with you." He looked down to her and messed with the red ball on top of Red's hat. "You know this hat I gave you? It was actually yours."

"Really…?" Red asked, blinking with interest.

"Yep. You gave it to us as a gift so we would remember you. As much as you loved us all, you said you had to get home…" Sans's voice suddenly trailed off, which began to concern Red. She looked up to him, waiting for him to continue. "The next thing Pap and I know, we hear you've been taken captive, and delivered to Asgore. We thought you had gone home at that point. But…one day, on a walk through the barren parts of Snowdin, I…"

Red gasped, knowing what he was about to say. "It was you…?"

He nodded slowly, clenching his fist in the snow. "Yeah. I found you at the bottom of a cliff. You smashed the back of your head on a rock. I had…never seen so much red. I'll be honest, kid…I was scared. I felt like…like I had lost someone in my family. I…I didn't know what to do, so I just used some of my healing magic on your dying soul. I didn't know the outcome…would be _this_." Sans glanced down sadly at her delicate skeletal figure, then looked away.

Red blinked, positioned herself so she was facing him, and rested her head against his belly. "You saved me…"

"I took away your…humanness…Can you really forgive me for that?" Sans muttered, his voice continued to falter. But the girl hugged him nonetheless, nuzzling him affectionately. He let out a soft chuckle, rubbing the top of her head. After they sat in the snow a while longer, Sans asked, "Ya ready to head home?" Red nodded sleepily. "Yeah, me, too. Here, hop on." He got onto his knees and allowed her to ride on his back, like how Papyrus would carry him home.

"Won't I hurt your side?" Red asked.

"Nah, I'll be fine. You just rest. I've got your back."

The younger monster let out a giggle. "No, I've got _yours_."

Sans then started laughing. "So true! I guess I fell into that one."

The two skeletons began the slow, quiet journey back to the house. When they arrived, Papyrus was practically waiting by the door. "OH, MY GOD, SANS! ARE YOU BOTH ALRIGHT?!" he asked frantically.

"Yeah…we're all good, bro," Sans panted, a little exhausted from the trek back home.

"WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR SIDE?! WERE YOU BEING RECKLESS AGAIN?"

"Nope. Just went lookin' for the kid."

"IS SHE HURT?!"

"Nah, just a bit shaken up from the cold. Here, you take her to the couch."

Papyrus led them _both_ to the couch; once they were comfortable, he smothered them both with blankets and served them spaghetti, which Red devoured in an instant; when she asked for more, Sans just gave her his plate. As the plates of pasta were licked clean, Papyrus urged them to rest on the couch for the rest of the night.

"C'mon, Pap, we're fine, really," Sans sighed with a groan. "You can stop worrying."

"SANS, AS YOUR BROTHER, I WILL NEVER STOP WORRYING FOR YOU," Papyrus stated firmly as he picked up the clean plates. "ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU TAKE SO LONG TO COME HOME. ARE YOU ABSOLUTELY SURE NOTHING HAPPENED?"

"For the third time, Papyrus, yes. Everything's fine," Sans repeated.

Papyrus sighed and moved to Red, beginning to ask her all sorts of questions at once. She answered them with one answer: _**YYYAAAAWWWWNNNN!**_

"OH, YES, YOU MUST BE VERY TIRED!" Papyrus said, patting her shoulder gently. "BUT WORRY NOT. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL READ YOU A BEDTIME STORY! I SHALL RETURN!" He turned on his boots and raced upstairs to his room.

Sans chuckled. "Probably gettin' the fluffy bunny story." He looked over to Red and noticed she still seemed a little distraught about something. "What's wrong, kid?"

Red looked at her hands, glaring at them. "I don't ever wanna use magic again."

"What?"

"I almost did something bad with it…If it's that dangerous, then I don't wanna use it."

"Aw, Red," Sans groaned a laugh. "It was one little fluke. I'm sure somethin' like that won't happen again."

"…Sans?"

"Hmm?"

"Have you…ever done something bad with your magic?"

Beads of sweat slowly appeared on Sans's forehead. "W-Well," he began softly, "only…if I ever had to. I can't really remember the last time I used my magic except for tonight's shenanigans." Red sighed, sounding like she had proven a point. "But kid, magic is not all bad." But she continued to sulk, hiding her hands under the blankets. The stout skeleton sighed and decided upon saying, "Fine. It's your choice. But you'll change your mind someday."

The conversation ended just as Papyrus came tromping down the stairs, holding a book in his arms. "HERE WE ARE!" he said. "THIS IS MY FAVORITE STORY! IT'S ABOUT THE ADVENTURES OF A LITTLE FLUFFY BUNNY! PREPARE TO EXPERIENCE THRILLS! CHILLS! SILLIES! SADNESS! AND OTHER STUFF. NOW, GET COMFORTABLE SO THAT I MAY TELL YOU THE STORY!"

"Heh. Usually it's me tellin' you the story," Sans said.

"WELL, THIS TIME, IT'S ME TELLING IT TO YOU AND RED, BROTHER," the younger, yet taller brother said proudly, "AND I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM THE SECOND-GREATEST STORYTELLER IN ALL OF SNOWDIN!"

"Second-greatest?"

"NO ONE IS A BETTER STORYTELLER THAN YOU, SANS!"

"Aw, thanks, bro."

Papyrus cleared his throat and opened to the first page. "THERE ONCE WAS A LITTLE FLUFFY BUNNY…"

By the end of the story, Red was nearly asleep, slouching and bobbing her head. The skeleton brothers giggled at her and helped her settle under the blankets.

"Thanks for the story, Pap," Sans said. "Don't think the kid would've gotten to sleep without it."

"IT WAS MY PLEASURE, BROTHER," Papyrus replied with a beaming smile, even though he was technically always smiling. "NOW, YOU AND RED HAVE A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP."

"Sure thing, bro."

"GOOD NIGHT, SANS."

"Night, Papyrus."

The taller skeleton then knelt down beside Red, who sleepily hugged her pillow, and petted the top of her head. "GOOD NIGHT, RED," he crooned; he headed for the stairs, and suddenly came to a halt when he heard a mumbled whisper.

" _Night…big brother_ …"

Both brothers perked at the tiny voice. Papyrus had an orange flush across his cheek bones and fluttered up and down the stairs, squeaking a long, flattered " _ **NYEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHH**_ **!** " as he scurried to his room.

Sans grinned with a light chuckle and petted Red's back until he heard the sound of slow breathing that indicated she was fast asleep. Then he rolled onto his good side, facing towards her. "It'll be fun havin' you around again, _Nyala_ …" he whispered.

Then he frowned. _No,_ he thought to himself, _not Nyala. Nyala is dead…All that's left is bones and clothes._ Sans laid a hand on the sleeping skeleton's side and closed his sockets, slowly drifting off to sleep. _But don't worry, kid. We won't let anything happen to ya again. I promise._

It was almost as though she could read his mind, for Red suddenly turned over and faced him, a tiny smile etched on her face. Sans was stirred by her movement, but smiled at the sight of the content look on her face, and fell back into a peaceful sleep.

THE END.

* * *

 **A/N: IT'S DONE! What did you guys think? Was it good?**


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